WE SUPPORT EXTENDING ACA TAX CREDITS

TO HELP AMERICANS KEEP HEALTH CARE

WE FAVOR AT LEAST A THREE-YEAR EXTENSION

BUT PREFER IT TO BE PERMANENT

We strongly support House Democratic Leadership’s effort to extend the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits for three years — but ultimately wish to make them permanent. These credits have allowed more than 20 million Americans to maintain health insurance they could not otherwise afford. But with the credits set to expire on December 31, and open enrollment for 2026 already underway, Congress has only days left to prevent devastating premium spikes and widespread coverage loss.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Democratic Whip Katherine Clark have made extending these enhanced tax credits a centerpiece of their efforts to protect working families. On November 11, 2025, they introduced a three-year extension as an amendment to the short-term spending bill needed to reopen the government. Their proposal would have provided stability through 2028 and protected millions of Americans from the most significant increase in health insurance costs in more than a decade. However, the Republican-controlled House Rules Committee rejected the Jeffries-Clark amendment that same day, blocking it from reaching the House floor and removing the ACA provision from the underlying bill.

Even after this setback, House Democrats made clear that the fight is far from over. Leader Jeffries announced that Democrats would press ahead with every available tool — including a discharge petition — to force a vote and protect the American people from catastrophic cost increases. This determination reflects a core Democratic principle: health care is a right, not a privilege.

Open enrollment for 2026 coverage began on November 1, and insurers have already priced their offerings based on the assumption that the enhanced credits will expire unless Congress acts. If lawmakers fail to extend the credits, nearly five million people could lose their coverage entirely, while millions more will face dramatically higher premiums. Analyses predict average increases exceeding 75 percent, with annual costs for a typical enrollee jumping from about $900 to nearly $1,900. Even now, with the enhanced credits in place, health insurance remains costly; the credits do not make coverage cheap, but they make it possible for many who could not afford it otherwise. Without them, the individual market will become unaffordable almost overnight.

While the bipartisan Fix It Act — introduced on November 10 — offers a two-year extension as a fallback option, it does not provide the long-term certainty that American families need. House Democratic Leadership is right to push for a stronger extension that offers stability through 2028 and keeps the focus where it belongs: on preventing widespread coverage loss and protecting Americans from soaring health care costs. Still, the proper solution is to make these tax credits permanent so that lower-income American families have some assurance that their healthcare plans will not be priced out of their reach.

In addition, a new bipartisan effort has emerged that highlights growing cross-party concern over this looming coverage crisis. On November 21, 2025, Representatives Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Don Bacon (R-NE), Jeff Hurd (R-CO), and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) introduced the Bipartisan HOPE Act. The bill would extend the enhanced premium tax credits for two years, add new income caps, and include fraud-prevention and marketplace-integrity guardrails — a compromise aimed at averting dramatic premium increases while broader reform debates continue.

The reopening of the government may have resolved one crisis, but the real test of congressional leadership lies ahead. With only days remaining before the enhanced tax credits expire, the responsibility now falls squarely on Congress to protect millions from unaffordable premiums and sudden coverage loss. House Democrats have already put forward a clear, comprehensive solution — and they are prepared to keep fighting until families get the relief they need. What happens next will determine whether Americans enter the new year with stability and security, or with higher costs and fewer options. Congress must act immediately to prevent avoidable harm and ensure that affordable health care remains attainable for everyone.

Our Related Links:

America's State of Emergency - An Agenda For Action

The War On The Poor

Hakeem Jeffries Related Links:

Leader Jeffries on CNN: "House Democrats have introduced legislation to extend the ACA tax credits for three years." (Hakeem Jeffries, 11-14-25)

Leader Jeffries: "Affordable Care Act tax credits expire next month and Republicans are out of excuses." (Hakeem Jeffries, 11-17-25)

Leader Jeffries on House Floor: "We'll fight until we win this battle for the American people." (Hakeem Jeffries, 11-12-25)

Jeffries, Democrats will offer 3-year extension of ObamaCare subsidies (The Hill, 11-11-25)

Fix It Act Related Links:

Fix It Act (PDF)

Bipartisan Bill to Protect Affordable Care Act Tax Credits Introduced (Kevin Kiley, 11-10-25)

HOPE Act Related Links:

Bipartisan Healthcare Optimization, Protection, and Extension (HOPE) Act

H.R.6232 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend and modify the enhanced premium tax credit, and to amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to make certain adjustments to the operation of the Exchanges established under such Act.

Suozzi, Bacon, Hurd, Gottheimer Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Avert Healthcare Affordability Crisis: The Bipartisan HOPE Act (Suozzi, 11-21-25)